The Tennessee Pharmacists Association (TPA), the only professional association representing pharmacists in all practice areas across the state, today announced that TPA members Nichole Foster, MBA, Med, CPhT-Adv and M. Kyle Phillips, Pharm.D, BCPS, have been appointed by Governor Bill Lee to serve on the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy.
Foster’s appointment establishes her as the first pharmacy technician to serve on the Board of Pharmacy, making a mark on the history of healthcare in Tennessee. With more than 19 years of experience in different areas of pharmacy practice, Foster is committed to the growth and advancement of pharmacy technicians. This commitment to technicians at the state and national level earned her the honor of being the first pharmacy technician to receive the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Distinguished Service Award in 2020. Additionally, she was the 2022 recipient of TPA’s Health-System Pharmacy Technician of the Year Award.
Foster earned her master’s in education and bachelor’s in biology from Cumberland University and her master’s in business administration from Trevecca Nazarene University. She is the manager of pharmacy technician and client education at CEimpact. Prior to her current role, she was the program director of the Pharmacy Technician Education and Training Program at Vanderbilt University. Foster is a member of the Certification Council for PTCB and a former member of the Pharmacy Technician Accreditation Council for ASHP.
Dr. Phillips has served the VA Tennessee Valley of Healthcare (TVHS) in a variety of roles since beginning his pharmacy career 13 years ago. He is currently the chief of pharmacy service for TVHS, overseeing more than 200 team members at the two main campuses of Nashville and Murfreesboro as well as the 19 outlying community-based outpatient clinics, which encompass tertiary care, long-term care and psychiatric care with budget preparations of over $200 million. Dr. Phillips’ previous roles at TVHS include associate chief of pharmacy service, clinical pharmacist and inpatient and outpatient pharmacy supervisor, where he led the pharmacy’s restructure, providing seven-day-a-week clinical pharmacist coverage on all medicine and surgery teams.
Dr. Phillips earned his bachelor’s in biochemistry from Freed-Hardeman University, followed by his Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy. He is board certified in Pharmacotherapy and is an alumnus of the Leadership VA Class of 2019.
“Nichole Foster has set a standard of excellence within the profession, and her appointment as the first pharmacy technician will bring monumental impact to the future of the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy,” said Anthony Pudlo, Chief Executive Officer of TPA. “We are also thrilled to have Dr. Phillips, an exemplary TPA member and established leader within the pharmacy community, appointed to the board and cannot wait to see how both of their expertise will help Tennesseans lead better lives.”
About The Tennessee Pharmacists Association
The Tennessee Pharmacists Association represents the profession of pharmacy across the state, united for the purpose of promoting safe and effective medication use to improve the health of patients. Since 1886, the Tennessee Pharmacists Association has preserved and advanced the interests of the profession and has served the professional needs of all pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians. For more information, please visit https://www.tnpharm.org.
